PAVING FIRM CASHES IN ON RETIREES

It said: 'The average individual cash withdrawal from pension funds is around £9,000, the average cost of an installed driveway or patio is between £5,000 and £6,000 and this remains a popular use of pensions release funds.' The Yorkshire-based FTSE 250 company makes paving slabs, bollards, kerbs, benches and other street furniture.

It has refurbished Trafalgar Square and is working on other big projects. Chief executive Martyn Coffey said it was getting more enquiries about bollards and kerbs from authorities following recent terrorist attacks where pedestrians were hit by cars.

Getting it wrong could mean that savers run out years too early and face destitution.

Loney said it was 'concerning' that many people were ploughing ahead without taking advice.

He even suggested that rival big pension firms were encouraging people to do this – potentially opening the door for a future mis-selling scandal.

'The best outcome for customers when choosing an income drawdown strategy generally occurs when they take financial advice, as the decisions are complex and can form a significant part of an individual's retirement income,' he said.

It follows repeated high-pressure sales tactics to sell annuities in previous years.

In February, Standard Life and Prudential said they would compensate up to 200,000 ill pensioners who were sold unnecessarily expensive annuities intended for people likely to live longer.

And in June, the Financial Conduct Authority launched a crackdown on advisers telling workers to cash in lucrative defined benefit pensions, which offer the most secure long-term way of saving.

Loney said the FCA was paying close attention to the drawdown market, and his business was launching a service for customers who were not being advised.

It came as Royal London revealed it had written £6.1billion on new life and pensions business in the first half of 2017, up 45 per cent on a year earlier. At its investment division, funds under management climbed 6 per cent to £106billion.